24-hour Adventure Weekend for new Scouts, followed by 6 days of swimming, boating, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing & rappelling, nature, Scoutcraft, advancement, ....
24 Scouts & adults in 2 crews on separate itineraries backpacked the 33-miles Klondike Goldrush trail over the Chilkoot pass from Alaska into British Columbia, Canada, then canoed 225 miles along the Yukon River in Canada's remote Yukon Territory
Sightseeing in Juneau & Skagway, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon
Travel by commercial airline, ocean-going ferry, historic train, charter bus (plus foot and canoe)
Value of Parent Involvement
Why do we insist on parental involvement? Because our experience tells us boys with involved parents are more likely to be successful in Scouting and in life.
Do we kick out boys whose parents cannot or will not meet our involvement standards? No, of course not (they need Scouting more than most). And we rejoice when Scouting helps such a boy along. But it is also disheartening to see unrealized potential that only a parent's loving involvement can bring out.
Our experiences with over 500 Troop 97 Scouts since 1978 shows a Scout will accomplish the following on average:
If one parent is a uniformed leader or active committee member, the Scout will:
camp 58 nights
stay in 4.6 years
go to 3.5 week-long summer camps
go on 1.5 challenging one- or two-week High Adventures
42% of such boys will earn the Eagle Scout award
11% will earn their church's God and Country award
backpack in Wyoming, after fording a stream (no bridges)
cook in a reflector oven and in a dutch oven, maybe in the snow
cross-country ski and build quinzhee snow shelters at Chimney Park Lodge in Wyoming at 9000 feet (2700 m)
stay in the officers quarters and plant trees at historic Fort Robinson in Nebraska
downhill skiing/snowboarding
Merit Badge University at Front Range Community College (not actually a campout, but a fun program offered by our district that was started and is still led by Troop 97 leaders)
district camporee; mountain biking; winter backpacking
Patrol Options—Need more? Patrols can plan their own weekend outings.
Venture Options—Need even more? Scouts Star and up can form special Venture crews to do just about anything almost anywhere. Got an imagination? Willing to put in some effort to make it happen?
Summer Camp (7 days)
Ride a charter bus to Gorham Scout Ranch at Chimayo, New Mexico, in the Sangre de Cristo mountains; tour Los Alamos National Laboratory
Mt Zirkel Wilderness Trek (8 days)
Backpack 40 to 60 miles through the beautiful Mt Zirkel Wilderness Area near Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
